Our Cup of Coffey: Trail of Ten Falls

This hike was AWESOME. We saw 10 waterfalls. 10!! The Trail of Ten Falls is located in Silver Falls State Park, a bit over an hour away from us. Our feet are very tired after logging a little over 10 miles on my Fitbit, but every step was worth it. So this hike is 8.7 miles, and we did a lot of wandering and climbing and playing around, which is why we logged about 1.5 miles than that. The elevation gain was 1,300 ft., and I'd classify this hike as moderate. It was totally doable even while pregnant! Be prepared for a loooooot of photos!
#1
We started our day at the North Falls Trail head and saw North Falls first. We knew there was a waterfall that you got to walk behind and everything, but turns out there are actually four of them which you walk behind! North Falls was the first.

#2 Next we passed Twin Falls. This was a much smaller waterfall and the angle of the view wasn't all that great. We ended up hiking along and being able to get a shot of the falls from further down the trail. Of all 10 waterfalls, only one actually let people be near the base. All others had signs prohibiting people from going down to the base. A bit of a bummer!

#3 Middle North Falls was next! And we liked this one a lot. It had this beautiful pool of water at the base and it's the second set of falls we got to walk behind. This hike was full of so many vibrant colors. Every shade of green imaginable and beautiful blue water.

#4 Was Drake Falls. Most of the falls we got to view from up above the falls and somewhere below the falls. This one just had one small spot and it was hard to get a good picture! This is the best we got.

#5 Is called Double Falls. This was a super tall one, so it was hard to get a great shot, but it has one small fall up top, then a second long falls just below!

#6 was right next to both Double falls and Drake Falls. It was called Lower North Falls. I loved how wide this one was!

#7 Was Lower South Falls. This one was gorgeous! The trees kinda cleared out so there was so many great angles and views to admire this one. It was another one we got to walk behind! There was a billion steps to climb up after passing the falls, but once again, totally worth it!

#8 Is the main attraction of Silver Falls State Park, South Falls! Many people come to the park just to see this beauty. Then there's the crazy people like us who hike around to see all the falls haha. This was the fourth and final fall that we got to walk behind. So gorgeous!

Because we were recording so many videos and taking so many photos, our phone batteries drained pretty quick, whoops! We need to invest in one of those portable battery packs. We stopped for a delicious lunch but forgot to snap a photo. After South Falls, you come across the lodge, gift shop, and lots of picnic areas. We picked a nice spot and devoured our lunch. we stopped to check for a penny press in the gift shop but got a key chain instead since we collect those, too. Then we were off again!
#9 was a small little guy, Winter Falls. We noticed that most of these waterfalls had big beautiful drops, but the water flow wasn't a lot. Winter Falls must be a little trickle during dry weather spells, because it's been raining plenty and it didn't have a lot of water.

#10 And our final water falls was Upper North Falls. This was the only falls where you could explore and play on the riverbed near the base. So of course, we did!

With that, our just over 10 mile waterfall loop was over! here are the rest of our photos from the day. Sometimes the most fun we have aren't even at the waterfalls!
SURPRISE, we're in a tree.

There were SO many vibrant, green plants alongside the trail. McKay saw an opportunity, and took it. haha. Me and my crown!

This was at the beginning of our hike, McKay said he was making a "Kayla" face. So maybe I'm not the best with maps... oh well.

I was definitely asked "How far along are you?" and "When are you due?" a handful of times, and some people had the funniest reactions when I responded with "7 months!" or "Due in August!". It's not everyday you pass a pregnant lady on a 9+ mile hike. haha. I move slower than I used to, but I honestly don't feel as though being pregnant has interfered with hiking at all. I can't express how grateful I am for both the blessing of having a strong and capable body coupled with a healthy pregnancy. So far this pregnancy has been a great experience for me. I pray future pregnancies will be the same, but you never know! For now, I am going to take advantage of this wonderful stage and hike to my heart's content! I have been able to continue doing the things I love, like hiking and my hands-on job as a gymnastics coach, and I couldn't be happier about that! Also, LOOK AT HOW GREEN THE PLANTS ARE!!!